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<title>Admission to Graduate Program</title>

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<H1>Admission to Graduate Study</H1>

<P>
An undergraduate degree is the minimal requirement for admission
to graduate study.
Students are admitted to a graduate program in one of the following
three types of status:<BR>

<OL>
<LI> <em>Full graduate status</em>: when  all admission requirements are met,
<LI> <em>Provisional graduate status</em>: when some admission requirements are not (or inadequately) met, 
<LI> <em>Temporary graduate status</em>: to take specific graduate level courses for one term.
</OL>

<P>
All students, except those with temporary status,
must apply either to the M.S. program or to the Ph.D. program.
Students admitted to the M.S. program are eligible to complete
the requirements for that degree.  If they wish to transfer to the
Ph,D. program, they must apply to the Admissions Committee.
which will make its decision based on the
student's performance in the M.S. program
and on the recommendations of the faculty.


<H2>Full Graduate Status</H2>

<P>
A student is admitted to a degree program with full status if he or she has
minimally earned a bachelor's degree, has
maintained a grade point average of at least B, and has completed
the following courses <em>or their equivalents</em>.

A student is admitted to a degree program with full graduate status if 
he/she has earned at least a B.S. degree, maintained a grade point average 
of at least B, and completed minimally a selection of courses in the 
following topical areas (the corresponding Pitt course
numbers are indicated):

<OL>
<LI> in Computer Science, one course in each of:
<BR>
<BR>
	<UL> 
	<LI> Discrete Structures (CS 0441)
	<LI> Information/Data Structures (CS 0445)
	<LI> Computer Organization/Assembly Language (CS 0447)
	<LI> Theory (CS 1510 or 1511)
	<LI> Languages (CS 1520 or 1621)
	<LI> Systems (CS 1550 or 1651
	</UL>
<BR>
<LI> in Mathematics, the following:
<BR>
<BR>
	<UL>
	<LI> the three-course calculus sequence (Math 0220, 0230, 0240)
	<LI> a course in linear algebra (Math 1180 or 0280)
	<LI> a course in probability & statistics, requiring calculus 
		as prerequisite (Stat 1151, 1152)
	</UL>
</OL>

<H2>Provisional Graduate Status</H2>

<P>
A student may be admitted to the M.S. degree program with provisional 
status if his or her qualifications are minimally deficient.
Such students will be advanced to full graduate status after
removal of the identified deficiences.
Students are expected to gain full graduate status by the time they
complete 18 credits or, equivalently, one academic year of full-time 
graduate studies. Students with provisional status are not allowed to
hold a teaching assistantship.


<H2>Temporary Graduate Status</H2>

<P>
This status allows a student to take graduate level courses for one
term without enrolling in a graduate program.
Temporary status is appropriate for a student who

<UL>
<LI> wants to take one or more specific courses for which
he/she has the necessary qualifications,

<LI> has deficiencies (in background or low grades), or

<LI> fails to meet the deadline for filing an official
application for admission but has met all of the requirements for
admission into a degree program with full graduate status.
</UL>

<P>
A student interested in applying for such special (temporary) status
must first obtain written permission from the faculty member teaching the
course of interest and then follow all of the procedures for
admission to a graduate degree program.

<H1>Application Materials</H1>

<P>
All application materials should be sent by the specified deadlines,
to the Graduate Admissions Committee, at the address given below.
<BR>

<BR>
<strong>
Graduate Admissions Committee<BR>
Department of Computer Science<BR>
University of Pittsburgh<BR>
Pittsburgh, PA 15260<BR>
U.S.A.<BR>
</strong>


<P>
The materials should all be in hard-copy form.  E-mail inquiries about
Pitt's graduate programs may be sent to <strong>grad_info@cs.pitt.edu</strong>;
inquiries about the status of an application may be sent to 
<strong>admit_status@cs.pitt.edu</strong>.

<P>
<strong>Deadlines:</strong> <BR>
February 1 for Fall admission with financial aid. <BR>
March 1 for Fall admission. <BR>
October 1 for Spring admission. <BR>

<H2>Application Materials to be Submitted by the Applicant</H2>

<P>
The following materials must be fully completed by the applicant and
submitted in one mailing:

<UL>
<LI> <em>Regular Application Form</em>: All applicants must complete this form.
<BR>
<BR>

<LI> <em>Departmental Supplemental Information Form</em>: All applicants must complete both sides of this form.  
<BR>
<BR>

<LI> <em>Letter of Application (or goal statement)</em>: All applicants must write a letter of qualification by themselves.  The letter should be addressed to the Graduate Admissions Committee.  Usually this letter contains degree objective(s), reasons for pursuing studies in computer science, and any additional information about qualifications and/or experience that are not covered adequately on the application form.
<BR>

<BR>
<LI> <em>Application Fee</em>: The fee is to be paid by a bank draft or money-order.  Personal checks are also acceptable \(em provided they are drawn on a U.S.  bank.  The check or money order is to be payable to: University of Pittsburgh.  No application will be considered without the prepaid application fee.
<BR>
<BR>

<LI> <em>Supplementary Application Form</em>: Only applicants who are not citizens of the United States must complete this form.  After a foreign student has been admitted, all subsequent visa-related work is handled by the Foreign Students Office of the University.
</UL>

<H2>Application Materials to be Submitted by Others</H2>

<P>
These materials are to be sent directly to the
Graduate Admissions Committee, at the address given above.
The applicant's name must match with that given on the main application form.
 
<UL>
<LI> <em>Transcripts of Grades:</em>
<BR>
The grade transcripts of the applicant should be sent directly to the
Department by all schools which the applicant has attended since leaving high
school.  These must be originals and, in cases of certain foreign universities,
must include English translations that are formally certified by the 
university's registrar or equivalent official.  Transcripts or official 
grade reports are not required for non-university courses.
<BR>
<BR>

<LI> <em>Three Reference Forms or Recommendation Letters</em>: 
<BR>
These should be completed or written by persons who can evaluate
chances of the applicant's success in graduate school.  In general, the
following individuals, in decreasing order of preference, are
suitable: (1) professors in applicant's upper level computer science or
mathematics courses, and (2) current or former employment supervisors.
The completed reference forms (obtained from the Department) or
letters should be sent directly to the Department by the evaluating
persons.
<BR>
<BR>

<LI> <em>Standard Test Scores</em>: 
<BR>
GRE scores are required; an advanced GRE score in Computer Science is strongly
recommended.  For a foreign applicant, a TOEFL score is also required.
All scores must be reported directly by the Educational Testing
Service to the Department of Computer Science.
</UL>

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